This essay offers a view on the short story "Ponto de vista (Quem desdenha)", which is the last title in Machado de Assis' book Histórias da meia-noite (1873). The present approach refers to critics who have considered major aspects of Machado de Assis' works, including the ones that follow: the characters development of moral motivation; their imagination; the way they mask themselves; and how they are composed as subjects. It is aimed at investigating the motivations of the character Raquel and how they are relevant to her subjective constitution.
short story; moral issue; subject constitution